The West Bengal government will include the life and contributions of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in school textbooks while removing the chapter on the Singur anti-land acquisition movement from the curriculum, School Education Minister Deepak Barman announced on Wednesday, November 4. Barman said the revised syllabus would place greater emphasis on the history of West Bengal and its prominent personalities, and that the committee appointed to prepare the revised syllabus has completed its work.

Source: The Indian Witness

Under the changes, Mookerjee will receive a brief introduction in every textbook, highlighting his life and contributions. The Singur movement chapter, which featured in the earlier Class 8 syllabus, will be removed, and the committee has also recommended dropping the Class 6 chapter on Kanyashree, the previous government's flagship scheme for schoolgirls. The complete text of Vande Mataram will be printed at the beginning of every textbook, and Barman said the quality of paper used for school textbooks had also been improved.

Source: Particle News summary of the announcement

New subjects, and a decision pending on pass-fail

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be introduced as a structured subject, with a prescribed syllabus, for students from Classes 5 to 8, and third-language textbooks will be introduced for Classes 7 and 8. The government is separately discussing whether to continue with the existing pass-fail system in schools, with a decision expected shortly.

The examination calendar for 2027 may also change because schoolteachers are expected to be deployed for Census duties. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has proposed conducting the Madhyamik, or Class 10, examinations from March 2 to 16 instead of the earlier February 15 to 25 schedule, while the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education is expected to propose holding the fourth-semester Higher Secondary examinations after March 16, rather than in the tentative January 22 to February 23 window. Barman said the government had received both boards' proposals and would announce the revised examination dates by next week. The changes affect the curriculum, textbook content and examination calendar for the 2027 academic year.